Recently hydration has come up quite often in my studio. People want to know how much is the right amount, when and what to drink is best.
Pure and simple water is by far the best source for hydrating the body. The body is made up of roughly 60% water and blood plasma is 92% water. There needs to be a certain amount of water within each cell in the body that allows them to function optimally and to maintain proper pH levels. When we drink water as just water our body can easily absorb this for optimal uptake, and can be quickly distributed to where it needs to be. Fluids you get from caffeinated beverages, energy drinks, colas, juices or sports drinks contain many other additives, sugars, artificial flavours and dyes that are not great for our system and can also pull water from our cells creating further dehydration. So when choosing for hydration, choose plain and simple water.
When it comes to when should you drink water, it is best to drink early in the morning, during and after exercise. Sometimes if you drink too much before exercise, it can be very uncomfortable having that feeling of it sloshing around in the stomach. The reason for drinking first thing in the morning is because we lose lots of water during our 8 hours of sleep a night, in the form of sweat and exhalation. So it is very beneficial to top up first thing in the morning. This way if you can consume 2/3 of your total water intake before 2pm and finish the rest of your water intake about 90min before bed, odds are you won't have to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, which will create for better sleep.
When it comes to quantity of water I recommend 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water daily. So if you are a 150lb person, you should be drinking 75 ounces (or 2250mL) of water daily, with 2/3 of that water being consumed before 2pm. This is a minimum amount of water and if you are exercising I'd recommend an additional 500mL for every 1 hr of intensive exercise.
HINT: If you seem to have to go the bathroom lots when you drink water, try adding a pinch of unrefined sea salt. You have put too much in if you have changed the flavour of the water and it tastes salty. This is also great way to replenish electrolytes in the body.
*note there is approximately 30mL / 1 fluid ounce
